Portal:Sierra Leone

The Sierra Leone Portal

Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is 73,252 km² (28,283 sq mi). It has a tropical climate and environments ranging from savannas to rainforests. As of the 2023 census, Sierra Leone has a population of 8,908,040. Freetown is both its capital and its largest city. The country is divided into five administrative regions, which are further subdivided into 16 districts.

Sierra Leone is a presidential republic, with a unicameral parliament and a directly elected president. It is a secular state. Its constitution provides for the separation of state and religion and freedom of conscience (which encompasses both freedom of thought and religion). Muslims constitute three-quarters of the population, and there is a significant Christian minority. Notably, religious tolerance is very high: it is both a social norm and part of the nation's cultural identity.

Sierra Leone's current territorial configuration was established in two phases: in 1808, the coastal Sierra Leone Colony was founded as a place to resettle returning Africans after the abolition of the slave trade; then in 1896, the inland Protectorate was created as a result of the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885. This led to the formal recognition of the territory as the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate. Sierra Leone attained independence from the United Kingdom in 1961 under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Milton Margai of the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). In 1971, under Prime Minister Siaka Stevens of the All People's Congress (APC), the country adopted a new constitution, transforming Sierra Leone into a presidential republic, with Stevens as the inaugural president. In 1978, Stevens declared the APC to be the sole legally recognized party. In 1985, he was succeeded by Joseph Saidu Momoh. Momoh's enactment of a new constitution in 1991 reintroduced a multi-party system. That same year, a protracted civil war broke out between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebel group. The conflict, characterized by multiple coups d'état, persisted for 11 years. Intervention by ECOMOG forces and later by the United Kingdom resulted in the defeat of the RUF in 2002, ushering in a period of relative stability. The two major political parties that remain are the APC and the SLPP.

Sierra Leone is a culturally diverse country, home to approximately 18 ethnic groups, with the Temne and Mende peoples being predominant. The Creole people, descendants of freed African-American, Afro-Caribbean slaves and liberated Africans, constitute about 1.2% of the population. English is the official language, while Krio is the lingua franca, spoken by 97% of the population. The country is rich with natural resources, notably diamonds, gold, bauxite and aluminium. As of the most recent survey in 2019, 59.2% of the population is affected by multidimensional poverty and an additional 21.3% vulnerable to it. Sierra Leone maintains membership in several international organizations, including the United Nations, African Union, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Commonwealth of Nations, among others. (Full article...)

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Sunset over Makeni

Makeni is the largest city in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District, and is the economic center of the Northern Province. Makeni is the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone by population. The city of Makeni had a population of 85,116 in the 2021 census. Makeni lies approximately 110 miles east of Freetown. Makeni is home to the University of Makeni, the largest private university in Sierra Leone. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Sierra Leone-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 2A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 3The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 4Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca (from Sierra Leone)
Image 5Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 6A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 7The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 8Isata Mahoi shown editing radio programmes in Talking Drum studio Freetown; she is also an actress in the Sierra Leone radio soap opera Atunda Ayenda (from Sierra Leone)
Image 9An Ivory Hunting Horn, Sapi people, Modern day Bullom or Temne People, Sierra Leone, late 15th century (from Sierra Leone)
Image 10National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 11Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 12The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 13The Koindu dance (from Sierra Leone)
Image 14The 14 districts and 2 areas of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 15A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 16The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 17Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 18A mosque and a church in Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 19African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 20Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 21A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 22A situation map of the Ebola outbreak as of 8 August 2014 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 23Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 24Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 25Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 26Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 27Sierra Leone's total population, from 1961 to 2013 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 28Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 29Historical GDP per capita development (from Sierra Leone)
Image 30Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 31A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 32Sierra Leone electricity production by source (from Sierra Leone)
Image 33The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)
Image 34A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 35National Stadium in Freetown (from Sierra Leone)
Image 36A secondary school class in Pendembu, Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 37Odelay mask by Temne people. Brooklyn Museum. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 38Sierra leone, sapi, olifante, 1490-1510 ca (from Sierra Leone)
Image 39A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 40An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 41British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 42Bunce Island, 1805, during the period the slave factory was run by John and Alexander Anderson (from Sierra Leone)
Image 43Sierra Leone map of Köppen climate classification (from Sierra Leone)
Image 44A school in Koindu destroyed during the Civil War; in total 1,270 primary schools were destroyed in the War. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 45Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)
Image 46Bai Bureh, Temne leader of the Hut Tax War of 1898 against British rule (from Sierra Leone)
Image 47The road from Kenema to Kailahun District (from Sierra Leone)
Image 48A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 49Temne leader Bai Bureh seen here in 1898 after his surrender, sitting relaxed in his traditional dress with a handkerchief in his hands, while a Sierra Leonean West African Frontier Force soldier stands guard next to him (from Sierra Leone)
Image 50A farmer with his rice harvest in Sierra Leone. Two-thirds of Sierra Leone's population are directly involved in subsistence agriculture. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 51British West African Campaign troops in Freetown, 1914–1916. Published caption: "British expeditionary force preparing to embark at Freetown to attack the German Cameroons, the main object of the attack being the port of Duala. Auxiliary native troops were freely used in African warfare." (from Sierra Leone)
Image 52A radio listener in Kailahun (from Sierra Leone)
Image 53The distribution of major ethnic groups within Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 54Moa River Bridge, Sierra Leone. Lisk-Carew Brothers, Freetown, Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 55An APC political rally in the northern town of Kabala outside the home of supporters of the rival SLPP in 1968 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 56Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 57An Ivory Hunting Horn, Sapi people, Modern day Bullom or Temne People, Sierra Leone, late 15th century (from Sierra Leone)
Image 58African Naval ratings march past the Governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Hubert Stevenson. (from Sierra Leone)
Image 59Houses at Sierra-Leone (May 1853, X, p. 55) (from Sierra Leone)
Image 60A proportional representation of Sierra Leone exports, 2019 (from Sierra Leone)
Image 61Rice farming in Rolako (from Sierra Leone)
Image 62Fragments of prehistoric pottery from Kamabai Rock Shelter (from Sierra Leone)
Image 63A map of Sierra Leone (from Sierra Leone)
Image 64The Sierra Leone Supreme Court in the capital Freetown, the highest and most powerful court in the country (from Sierra Leone)

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A map of Sierra Leone on which is marked Freetown (the capital, to the extreme west) and the nearby towns of Hastings (where the SAS and Paras prepared for the operation) and Masiaka (where the Jordanian detachment of UNAMSIL was based)

Operation Barras was a British Army operation that took place in Sierra Leone on 10 September 2000, during the late stages of the nation's civil war. The operation aimed to release six British soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment and their Sierra Leone Army (SLA) liaison officer, who were being held by a militia group known as the "West Side Boys". The soldiers were part of a patrol that was returning from a visit to Jordanian peacekeepers attached to the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) at Masiaka on 25 August 2000 when they turned off the main road and down a track towards the village of Magbeni. There the patrol of twelve men was overwhelmed by a large number of heavily armed rebels, taken prisoner, and transported to Gberi Bana on the opposite side of Rokel Creek.

Negotiators secured the release of five of the soldiers, but were unable to gain the freedom of the remaining six and their SLA liaison officer before the West Side Boys' demands became increasingly unrealistic. Negotiators concluded that these were delaying tactics rather than an effort to resolve the crisis. By 9 September, the soldiers had been held for more than two weeks. Fearing that the soldiers would be killed or moved to a location from which it would be more difficult to extract them, the British government authorised an assault on the West Side Boys' base, to take place at dawn the following day, 10 September. (Full article...)

List of recognized articles
Aniru Conteh British military intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War Sierra Leone women's national football team Sierra Leone at the 2016 Summer Paralympics 2017 Sierra Leone mudslides Sierra Leone at the 2012 Summer Olympics Western African Ebola virus epidemic Pygmy hippopotamus